Movies during the Golden Age of Hollywood had to go through a rigid censorship inspection by the Hays Office. If the films' plot involved a religious element, then the Catholic Legion of Decency would step in whenever it viewed potentially objectionable content. That's what faced MGM right before the March 1940 release of "Strange Cargo," starring Clark Gable and Joan Crawford.
The eighth and final pairing of Gable and Crawford was based on Richard Sale's 1936 novel 'Not Too Narrow, Not Too Deep,' about a breakout of several prisoners from the Devil's Island penal colony. One member who escaped was Cambreau (Ian Hunter), a new arrival to the prison. He appears to know everything, and recovers from death at least twice. His pronouncements about God making an image of Man like himself, with everyone having a piece of God in themselves unsettled the Legion of Decency. The organization claimed Cambreau's Christ-like figure presented "a naturalistic concept of religion contrary to the teachings of Christ, irreverent use of Scripture, and lustful complications." The 'lustful complications' were directed towards the character of Julie (Joan Crawford), an abrasive entertainer (hooker) who finds herself in love with Andre Verne (Gable), a convict and escapee with Cambreau. As the movie progresses, Julie becomes a redeemer to Verne, who has a habit of committing burglaries.
Between the cuts MGM made to satisfy the Motion Picture Code censors and the Legion, the film's producer, Joseph Mankiewicz lamented, "It was almost a good film. I wish it could have been made later. It was tough doing any kind of film that even approached reality in any way." "Strange Cargo" was banned in Boston, Providence, Rhode Island, and Detroit among a number of smaller towns while Catholics picketed in front of theaters playing the movie. MGM felt the pairing of Gable, just off his "Gone With The Wind" performance, and a rejuvenated Crawford from her highly-praised appearance in 1939's "The Women," would spark box office magic. But because of the dark themes introduced in the film, MGM barely eked out a small profit.
"Strange Cargo is an odd film in that, although surely a product of the studio system-who were not especially known for taking chances-it does in fact take several," notes film reviewer Orson DeWelles. "It starts as a gritty prison escape film, then a symbolic theme of religious reawakening." It has been cited by film historian Margarita Landazuri as director Frank Borzage's best expression of his metaphysical themed works, a specialty of his mystical-atmospheric films.
Crawford stands out as the jaded 'entertainer' who's caught in the mix of the penal colony's inmates. To reflect her character's cheapness, Crawford wore off-the-rack clothes, each costing less than $40 apiece. She wore no make up, unusual for her, except applying Vaseline to her lips, eyelids and eyebrows so they could be moist in the hot climate. Director Borzage called her a professional working under difficult conditions on the humid, dank jungle set. This included every scene except for one where she spotted an eight-foot python on a tree branch as she was walking underneath it. "That son of a b... is alive!" Crawford yelled, startled by the slithering snake. Borzage reassured her its jaws where clamped down by a rubber band. "What happens if the f... rubber band snaps?" she asked him, and refused to reshoot the scene.
Film critic Dan Callahan commented on the actress: "it does contain memorable glimpses of Crawford's young star face starting to turn to impervious middle-aged granite as she listens to Ian Hunter's Christ figure drone on about saving her soul." The actress was approaching late 30s and her roles were becoming more hard-edged to fit her changing on-screen personality. Shortly after "Strange Cargo's" release, Crawford adopted the first of five children, Christina, who would famously pen the tell-all expose on her adoptive mother in 1978's 'Mommie Dearest.'
The eighth and final pairing of Gable and Crawford was based on Richard Sale's 1936 novel 'Not Too Narrow, Not Too Deep,' about a breakout of several prisoners from the Devil's Island penal colony. One member who escaped was Cambreau (Ian Hunter), a new arrival to the prison. He appears to know everything, and recovers from death at least twice. His pronouncements about God making an image of Man like himself, with everyone having a piece of God in themselves unsettled the Legion of Decency. The organization claimed Cambreau's Christ-like figure presented "a naturalistic concept of religion contrary to the teachings of Christ, irreverent use of Scripture, and lustful complications." The 'lustful complications' were directed towards the character of Julie (Joan Crawford), an abrasive entertainer (hooker) who finds herself in love with Andre Verne (Gable), a convict and escapee with Cambreau. As the movie progresses, Julie becomes a redeemer to Verne, who has a habit of committing burglaries.
Between the cuts MGM made to satisfy the Motion Picture Code censors and the Legion, the film's producer, Joseph Mankiewicz lamented, "It was almost a good film. I wish it could have been made later. It was tough doing any kind of film that even approached reality in any way." "Strange Cargo" was banned in Boston, Providence, Rhode Island, and Detroit among a number of smaller towns while Catholics picketed in front of theaters playing the movie. MGM felt the pairing of Gable, just off his "Gone With The Wind" performance, and a rejuvenated Crawford from her highly-praised appearance in 1939's "The Women," would spark box office magic. But because of the dark themes introduced in the film, MGM barely eked out a small profit.
"Strange Cargo is an odd film in that, although surely a product of the studio system-who were not especially known for taking chances-it does in fact take several," notes film reviewer Orson DeWelles. "It starts as a gritty prison escape film, then a symbolic theme of religious reawakening." It has been cited by film historian Margarita Landazuri as director Frank Borzage's best expression of his metaphysical themed works, a specialty of his mystical-atmospheric films.
Crawford stands out as the jaded 'entertainer' who's caught in the mix of the penal colony's inmates. To reflect her character's cheapness, Crawford wore off-the-rack clothes, each costing less than $40 apiece. She wore no make up, unusual for her, except applying Vaseline to her lips, eyelids and eyebrows so they could be moist in the hot climate. Director Borzage called her a professional working under difficult conditions on the humid, dank jungle set. This included every scene except for one where she spotted an eight-foot python on a tree branch as she was walking underneath it. "That son of a b... is alive!" Crawford yelled, startled by the slithering snake. Borzage reassured her its jaws where clamped down by a rubber band. "What happens if the f... rubber band snaps?" she asked him, and refused to reshoot the scene.
Film critic Dan Callahan commented on the actress: "it does contain memorable glimpses of Crawford's young star face starting to turn to impervious middle-aged granite as she listens to Ian Hunter's Christ figure drone on about saving her soul." The actress was approaching late 30s and her roles were becoming more hard-edged to fit her changing on-screen personality. Shortly after "Strange Cargo's" release, Crawford adopted the first of five children, Christina, who would famously pen the tell-all expose on her adoptive mother in 1978's 'Mommie Dearest.'